MEL Assistant at Mercy Corps

Reference Number: MDG/HUMOPS/2019/00084
Location: Ngala, Borno

Program / Department Summary

• Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development and conflict mitigation. With the insurgency spilling over from the Northeast of Nigeria and causing displacement of millions of individuals, Mercy Corps started its humanitarian response in 2014 to address the rising humanitarian needs. With funding from institutional donors, foundations and private corporations, Mercy Corps continues to provide assistance to meet the basic needs of vulnerable populations in the areas of food security, shelter, water and sanitation, protection, and livelihoods.
• With the recognition of the protracted crisis in Northeast Nigeria, Mercy Corps’ strategy and expansion plans aim to address the root causes of the crisis and seek to build long-term resilience of communities with integrated programs focusing on the recovery of markets and livelihoods, social cohesion and social protection, and youth empowerment with emphasis on adolescent girls and boys. With multiple funding streams from large institutional donors and foundations, Mercy Corps’ programs in Northeast Nigeria continue to scale up and serve communities by transitioning them from humanitarian aid to early recovery programs.

General Position Summary

• Under the direction of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Officer, the MEL Assistant will be responsible for the monitoring of project activities at project sites. These activities include: beneficiaries verification, monitoring of project activities, collecting data through surveys and interviews, participating in the assessments and submitting routine reports.

Essential Job Functions

• Assist in data collection, illustrating project activities progress and impact
• Conduct beneficiary names verification, ensuring they meet agreed project target criteria
• Assist in monitoring of program activities, including distributions, trainings, to ensure that intended assistance is delivered to registered beneficiaries as scheduled,
• Ensure all the activities are conducted in full respect to the humanitarian principles and in organized and dignified way
• Provide support to the MEL Officer in the design and uploading of forms into digital data collection platforms such as ODK/Ona.
• Participate in program and sector specific assessments, monitoring, surveys and evaluations. This will entail management of data collectors and facilitating results discussion
• Participate in surveys, assessments, Focus Groups Discussions
• Ensure proper filing, handling and movement of project files
• Assist in data entry into the project databases
• Assist in designing data entry tools and monitoring tools, as required
• Share and document lessons learned
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Adherence to all MC policies and procedures as outlined in MC policies and procedure manuals;
• Other duties as assigned.

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning:

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
• to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Accountability:

• Supervisory Responsibility: None
• Reports Directly To: Senior MEL Officer
• Works Directly With: Northeast PAQ Unit, Northeast Program teams

Knowledge and Experience

• Preferably a Bachelor’s degree in a related field: social sciences, development studies, education, etc. or at least one year of work experience in a related discipline.
• Experience in community work with previous experience in project monitoring, preferably with an NGO within Borno States.
• Demonstrated skills in planning, organizing, analyzing and reporting.
• Ability to interact effectively with various community members, conducting him/herself with sensitivity and respect towards others
• Willingness, ability to perform field work and work under pressure.
• Have a good appreciation of technology in enhancing program and MEL related activities
• Excellent computer skills – Word and Excel are required;
• Strong interpersonal, intercultural and communication skills
• Fluency in English and Hausa is a must.

Success Factors

• S/he will be capable of multi-tasking, rapid decision-making, have initiative, drive and a lot of energy, as well as high emotional intelligence, constructive communication skills and proven experience with capacity building.
• S/he will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level. Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.